Condensation of alcohols



Patented J an. 24, 1939 uuiTED STATES.

OFFicg Y 2,145,097 coNnnNsa'rIoN or monoLs Norman D. Scott, Nit-Sta Falls, N. Y E. I. du Pont .de Nemoursia Company, ,Inc., .Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Original application December 2, I 1931, Serial No. 578,609. Dividediand this apg plication January 7, 1935, Serial No. 697

9 Claims.

This invention relates to the conversion of alcohols to esters and to other alcohols of higher molecular weight. The present application is a division of my copending application Serial Num- ,ber 578,609, filed December 2, 1931 now S. Patent No. 2,004,350, issued June 11, 1935.

It has heretofore been proposed to convert primary alcohols into esters by first converting the alcohol into its aldehyde by oxidation or dehydrol0 genation, and thereafter converting the aldehyde .to ester by condensation. This process requires 25 a lower alcohol, for example ethyl alcohol,'in the liquid phase and under pressure while in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst, with or without a condensingcatalyst.

The invention is particularly suited to the 'conversion of ethyl alcohol to butanol and/or ethyl acetate; but the invention is not restricted to the treatment of ethyl alcohol and may be also applied to other alcohols, both aliphatic and cyclic. Broadly, the invention consists in mixing the desired amount of alcohol with the catlystmaterial, prepared as hereinafter described, placing the liquid mixture in a suitable bomb or autoclave, which is adapted to permit agitationof the contents, and there heating to the desired temperature} This temperature is preferably 150 C; or above but shouldbe below the critical temperature of the alcohol used as raw material. The reaction may be carried out for varied periods of time, for instance, from about 4 hours to about 22 hours. The reaction products may be separated by distillation or-other suitable methods and any unconverted raw material may be recovered and again utilized in the reaction.

The invention will be more specifically illus-, trated in terms of the conversion of ethyl alcohol to butanol and/or ethyl acetate. The preparation of suitable catalyst material, e. g. a supported metalic dehydrogenating catalyst will now be described.

v 7 Example 'I A catalyst suitable for converting ethyl alcohol into ethyl acetate. and/or butanol is prepared by supporting a. copper compound on alumina gel and reducing the compound in hydrogen. A mixture of 12 liters of water, 1170 grams of Cli(NOs)2-3H2O, 2300 cc. of NH4OH (22.5%) ,and 225 grams of 200 mesh A120 gel was'placed in a 6 gallon enameled pot, heated to 70 C., and agitated by a stream of air. 1170 grams of Cu(NOa)z-3H2O, in 2 liters of water was slowly added during a period of 3 hours. The temperature was then maintained at 70 C., while'the remaining NH: was blown out by a rapid stream of air. The catalyst was filtered on a Buchner funnel, washed substantiallyfree from nitrates with about liters of water, dried in an oven at 120 C., and finally reduced in a stream'of Hz at 200-550 C., depending on the specific use for which the catalyst is to be employed as will hereinafter be described. 1

, Example II A copper chromite catalyst was prepared by reacting solutions of cupric nitrate andammonium dichromate and heating the resultant precipitate to decomposition temperatures, as described by Adkins and Connor, Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 53,'page 1092 (1931), and

reduced with hydrogen gas at 400 C.

Example III converted to ethyl acetate and the remainder to a mixture of higher alcohols. Less than 1% of the raw material reacting was degraded "to-gas.

. I f My invention is capableof wide variation and applicability; in addition to the condensation of 'ethanol to ethyl acetate or butanol, other allphatic or cyclic alcohols may be similarly con-- densed to higher alcohols and esters; thus, the following condensations have been successfully alcohol, or a mixture of alcohols, at least one of which must be a primary alcohol.

When one is reacting mixtures of alcohols it is understood that the temperature employed will be sumciently low to maintain a liquid phase in the closed system.

While I prefer to employ the catalysts given in the above examples, the supported copper catalyst may be replaced by other dehydrogenating catalysts, for example, by supported nickel, prepared similarly to the copper catalyst in Example I. Nickel has a disadvantage, however, in that it produces a relatively larger amount of gaseous by-products than does copper, apparently because of its more active dehydrogenating character.

The temperature at which the dehydrogenating catalyst is reduced materially affects the course of the reaction. Thus, if the copper catalyst of Example I is reduced at 200 to 240 C., it functions primarily as a catalyst for the production of esters. As its activity is decreased by heating in hydrogen at higher temperatures, for example at 400-550 C., it becomes less effective as an ester forming catalyst' and more suitable for higher alcohol forming catalyst. If the dehydrogenating catalyst reduced at higher temperatures is combined with a condensing catalyst such as potassium carbonate, and with or without a dehydrating catalyst such as alumina, it produces alcohols almost exclusively. If the desired end-product is an ester, it is preferable that the catalyst contain not more than a trace of alkaline material.

Other condensing catalysts may replace the potassium carbonate or caesium carbonate. Potassium hydroxide is effective, but apparently not as permanent, since it is converted to a potassium salt of an organic acid during the course of the reaction. KzSiOa and NaOH may also be used as condensing catalysts. Other dehydrating catalysts, e. g. thoria, may replace the alumina; or the dehydrating catalyst may be entirely omitted, although its use is advantageous.

The reaction may be carried out at temperatures from150 C. to the critical temperature of the alcohol employed. I prefer, however, to employ a temperature of about 200-230 C., for although the higher temperature increases the reaction rate, it also apparently decreases the permanence of the catalyst and the selectivity as between the formation of esters and of higher alcohols, and hence is not so desirable.

The pressure in the autoclave is determined.

primarily by the vapor pressure of the liquids at the temperatures employed; in general this will be from 150 to 1000 pounds per square inch. The

addition of hydrogen at a partial pressure of around 100 pounds per square inch is beneficial in condensing lower to higher alcohols. The total pressure used will therefore range in general from about 150 to 1000 pounds per square inch. When the process is carried out to produce an ester with hydrogen as a by-product, it is preferable to keep the partial pressure of hydrogen as low as practicable by venting the hydrogen as formed.

While the alcohols may contain up to 840% water and still produce substantial amounts of the desired products, the reactions are, faster if substantially anhydrous alcohols are employed. The presence of carbon monoxide in substantial amounts should be avoided as it apparently retards the rate of reaction.

Pronounced agitation of the reacting mixture is materially advantageous. This may be accomplished by rotating or shaking the reactor or by a mechanical agitator introduced within the reactor.

The advantages of this invention reside in the simplicity of employing a one step conversion from lower alcohols to esters, and also in the extremely low percentage of conversion of the reactants to undesirable and useless gaseous byproducts. In the majority of numerous trials, I have found that 0.25% or less of the reactants were converted to such useless products and only -on rare occasions has the amount converted to gases been as high as 0.5 to 0.8%

It is understood that in the specification and claims the term alcohol is employed in its generic sense and is not restricted to any particular alcohol.

primary monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst of the group consisting of reduced copper, reduced nickel and mixtures thereof with non-reducible non-alkaline, dehydrating, metal oxides, said catalyst having been reduced at a temperature below 400 C.

2. The process for producing organic condensation products comprising heating an aliphatic primary monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol, under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid, in the presence of a de-' hydrogenating catalyst of the group consisting of reduced copper, reduced nickel and mixtures thereof with non-reducible, non-alkaline, dehydrating, metal oxides, said catalyst having been reduced at a temperature of from 200 to 400 C.

3. The process for producing organic condensation products comprising heating an aliphatic primary monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at 200 to 230 C. under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst of the group consisting of reduced copper, reduced nickel and mixtures thereof with nonreducible, non-alkaline, dehydrating, metal oxides, said catalyst having been reduced at a C. and the critical temperature or said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst of the group consisting of reduced copper, reduced nickel and mixtures thereof with non-reducible, nonalkaline, dehydrating, metal oxides, such catalyst having been reduced at a temperature of 200 to 240 C.

5. The process for producing organic condensation products comprising heating ethyl alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said ethyl alcohol, under pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid, in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst of the group consisting of reduced copper, reduced nickel and mixtures thereof with non-reducible. non-alkaline, dehydrating metal oxides, said catalyst having been reduced at a temperature of from 200 to 400 C.

'6. The process for producing esters which comprises heating a primary aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst comprising essentially a mixture of reduced copper and alumina, said catalyst having been reduced at a temperature of 200 to 240 C.

7. The process for producing esters which comprises heating a primary aliphatic monohydric a1- cohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a dehydrogenating catalyst comprising essentially a mixture of reduced copper and thoria, said catalyst'having been reduced at a temperature of 200 to 240 C.

8. The process for producing esters which comprises heating a primary aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150" C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure of the liquid in the presence of a catalyst comprising essential= ly a mixture of reduced copper and a non-reducible, non-alkaline dehydrating metal oxide, said catalyst having been reduced at a temperature below 400 C.

9. The process for producing esters which'comprises heating a primary aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the liquid phase at a temperature between 150 C. and the critical temperature of said alcohol under a pressure approximately equal to the corresponding vapor pressure oi.- the liquid in the presence of a catalyst comprising essential- 1y a mixture of reduced nickel and a non-reducible, non-alkaline dehydrating metal oxide, said catalyst having been reduced at a-temperature below 400 C.

NORMAN D. SCO'I'I. 

